Uptown district unveils plan

Focus is on being mixed-use urban center

KIM JACKSON, Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle

Published
6:30 am CST, Wednesday, February 1, 2006

The Uptown Houston District will concentrate on mobility and beautification projects to complement the retail, office and exploding residential developments in the Uptown/Galleria area, a district official said last week.

He said the district is finalizing plans and would not be ready to release specific project costs and timelines for a month.

The Uptown Houston District, or Harris County Improvement District No. 1, draws its annual budget from property taxes, about 14 cents per $100 property valuation, which is collected from property owners in the district's boundaries.

The district includes office, retail and high-rise residential properties west of Loop 610 from the Uptown Park area south to U.S. 59.

"We are working on making these 600-700 acres more livable as we go along," Breeding said.

Breeding said the Uptown/Galleria area is moving toward a "mixed-use urban center" with retail, office, restaurant, hotel/motel and residential properties co-existing in tight quarters.

The district's goals are to make sure the area remains regionally accessible via major highways, such as West Loop, Interstate 10, Westpark Toll Road; improves internal circulation on local streets and supports the commercial/residential development in the district, he said.

Breeding said the district is working on developing several "edges and gateways," into the Uptown/Galleria area.

Among those projects is the development and beautification of four Loop 610 underpasses at Richmond, Westheimer, San Felipe and Post Oak Boulevard.

The district is contributing funds to upgrade those underpasses, Breeding said.

Among those upgrades are additional lighting, sconces on the underpass columns, brick pavers, landscaping and pedestrian-friendly sidewalks under the freeway.

The district also is finalizing a $3.5 million joint agreement with TxDOT to landscape the West Loop from Buffalo Bayou south to U.S. 59 as part of the state transportation department's reconstruction project, he said.

The Uptown District plans to put funds into landscaping and water features at the Lake on Post Oak/Hidalgo Park, a property bordered by the West Loop, Hidalgo and Post Oak Boulevard.

The work should be done this summer.

Local mobility projects play a large role in the district's master plan. Past street projects completed by the Uptown District include:

•Widening Post Oak Boulevard at Richmond to align the street with the entrance to the Westpark Tollway
•Widening of Sage Road from a four-lane to a six-lane road between Hidalgo and West Alabama
•Improvements to the Sage/U.S. 59 and Rice/U.S. 59 intersections to provide access to the Westpark Tollway
•Reconstruction of San Felipe from Yorktown to Sage
•Widening of Uptown Park Boulevard at the Post Oak Boulevard intersection to four lanes and addition of a right-turn lane at that intersection
•Reconstruction of McCue Street from Westheimer to Chevy Chase
The McCue project focused on creating a more "pedestrian-friendly" environment, Breeding said, by taking the four-lane road down to a two-lane road, but adding on-street parking and sidewalks.

He said the district would work on improvements to Ambassador Way in conjunction with a large, 21-acre development planned for the former Pavilion on Post Oak, which is between San Felipe and Ambassador Way on Post Oak Boulevard.

A long-range goal that remains on the district's agenda is how to integrate proposed plans for an east-west light rail line into the Uptown/Galleria area, said Breeding.